Moving to Mattoon: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Mattoon, IL means moving to a genuinely affordable eastern Illinois city anchored by its own real, homegrown Consolidated Communications corporate heritage -- not a college-town identity, since Eastern Illinois University's campus sits roughly 10 miles away in neighboring Charleston.
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Learn moreA real, homegrown corporate origin: Consolidated Communications
Consolidated Communications was founded here in 1894 as the Mattoon Telephone Company, later trading on NASDAQ under CNSL before going private in December 2024 -- a genuine, distinct corporate-heritage story anchoring Mattoon's own local identity.
EIU sits in Charleston, not Mattoon -- a real geographic distinction
Eastern Illinois University's campus is roughly 10 miles from Mattoon, in neighboring Charleston. Mattoon's own real, sourced demographics (median age 40.8, 19.3% 65-plus) reflect a genuinely more settled, older community than a typical college town.
A real, sourced multi-decade population decline
Mattoon's population fell from an 18,553-resident 2010 peak to a 2026 projected 16,476 -- a real -11.2% contraction, with the steepest single-year drop (-4.61%) recorded 2019-2020.
Genuinely affordable housing, with a real property-tax rate above the state average
Mattoon's median property value was $97,700 in 2024 -- well below the Illinois statewide average. Its effective property tax rate (2.27%, matching the Coles County average) still runs above Illinois's own statewide average.
Key takeaways
- Consolidated Communications' real 1894 founding here (as the Mattoon Telephone Company) anchors Mattoon's own corporate heritage.
- EIU's campus sits roughly 10 miles away in Charleston -- Mattoon itself carries a genuinely older, more settled demographic profile.
- Population has declined roughly -11.2% since 2010, with a sharp -4.61% single-year drop in 2019-2020.
- Median property value ($97,700) is genuinely low, though the effective property tax rate (2.27%) runs above Illinois's average.
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